Embrace The Darkness
by The Perfectly Imperfect
Summary: As the final battle of the war nears, Hermione and Draco are sent away. Will Draco be able to defy the one man who can rule his life in fear; his father? Extended bio inside.
1. The Sorting

A/N Hey everyone, this is my first fanfiction though I've been writing stories for quite awhile! Please review my story, I really like encouragement and constructive criticism! The well-rounded reviews are the ones that help the most! Thankyou! By the way, the next chapters will be longer, I just made this one a bit shorter.  
  
Here's the extended Bio-  
As the war against Voldemort comes nearer to the end and the final battle is within sight, Dumbledore sends his students to safehouses placed around the world; for it has become more apparent that the war must end at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Draco and Hermione are placed together, but will Draco be able to defy the one man who can rule his life in fear; his father.  
  
Embrace the Darkness  
Chapter One-The Beginning of the End  
Hermione anxiously tapped her quill on the desk. Over, and over, and over again. Harry elbowed her in annoyance, but not before Professor Snape yelled at her for "disrupting the class", and subtracted five points from Gryffindor. She leaned back in her seat sullenly, and stopped herself from tapping her foot. She straightened up as Snape started handing out their fully graded essay.  
Last year, their sixth year, was incredibly challenging. The faculty had agreed to speed up Hogwarts education because the war was approaching. The fourth years took their O.W.L.'s and they had taken their N.E.W.T.'s. Besides that, Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin Prince and four-time winner of the Sexiest Slytherin contest had started putting some effort into his schoolwork.  
He had beaten Hermione many times in Potions. He also excelled ion Potions, Arithmancy, and, unbelievably, Divination; partly because he had the help of half the Slytherin class in coming up with different ways to die. After all, Crabbe and Goyle had been no help whatsoever.  
Hermione had surpassed him in Transfiguration, Defense against the Dark Arts, Charms, Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, and the History of Magic. Draco beat her regularly in Potions, partly because of favoritism, and Hermione scoffed at anything relating to the subject of Divination. They were basically evenly matched in Arithmancy.  
Finally Snape reached her desk and slapped down her essay. She took a deep breath and flipped over the parchment. A- was printed in bright red ink.  
"What!" Hermione exploded. "This was a GREAT essay! I wrote three feet extra in impeccable handwriting!"  
"Control yourself, Miss Granger. Not that I would expect more from a know-it-all. Twenty points from Gryffindor." Hermione huffed and slumped in her chair, receiving sympathetic looks from Harry and Ron. She watched as Snape came closer and closer to the only person in her class who could academically challenge her, the Head Girl of Hogwarts. The Head Boy; Draco Malfoy himself.  
It is a week into the school year and Hermione could still barely believe that Malfoy was Head Boy. Ron, Harry, and herself suspected that his father's prestige may have something o do with it, but it was hard to imagine Dumbledore placing someone just for someone's money or position.  
Hermione's eyes focused in on Draco's parchment as it slapped down onto his desk and turned it over excruciatingly slow. She strained her neck to try and see the grade he had received, but there was no need as he picked up the parchment and waved it in Hermione's direction as if in victory. He had received an A+.  
"NO!" Hermione screamed silently in her head. The first essay of the year in Potions and he had beaten her, once again. He even had gotten the green sparkly ink, reserved for the top scorer.  
"Congratulations to Draco Malfoy, who received the highest grade in the class. "The greasy professor seemed to aim the unnecessary comment at Hermione. Two years ago, she would have been hurt. Now, she was simply angry. Harry and Ron could easily recognize the signs of when she was seething.  
Suddenly, Headmaster Dumbledore's voice has heard in the room, from no certain direction.  
"Will all students please report to the Great Hall immediately after class." After repeating once, Dumbledore's voice vanished and left the students chattering among each other.  
"Silence. The announcement specifically said to report after classes were completed, and we have five minutes left." Other students were heard rushing to the Great Hall early. All except for theirs.  
After the five minutes were over, the students proceeded to the Great Hall. Harry and Ron tried to unsuccessfully to cheer up Hermione. The reason the attempt failed may have been because they tried to talk about, what else, Quidditch.  
When all students had assembled in the Great Hall, Professor Dumbledore stood up.  
"As you all know, a battle against Voldemort's forces is looming nearer every day. For the protection of all students, I have decided to place every one of you in safehouses throughout the world. You will travel from house to house, spending a week in each place. However, a report will be written about each site, and minimal magic will be used. To some places, Portkeys or Floo Powder will be used. For others, Muggle transportation methods will be used."  
The professor paused, giving them a second to let all of the information set in. Cries of protest and excitement erupted throughout the hall. Dumbledore held up a hand for silence and continued.  
"Every student will be placed with a partner, and there will be objects to use if in dire need of help. First and second year students will be under the supervision of adults volunteering their time and will be in groups o four. Third years will also be in groups of four. The Sorting Hat will be used to place partners and groups together."  
And with those words, the professor motioned for McGonagol to place the hat onto the stool.  
Starting with the seventh years, names were called out by the professor in alphabetical order. The girl or boy sat down on the uncomfortable stool and waited for the name of their partner to be called. Hermione's name was called and she once again placed the Sorting Hat on her head.  
"What a pleasant surprise, to be able to see the brilliant mind you have, once again, Hermione Granger."  
She simply smiled in response.  
"However, your partner is very hard to place. Hmmm.well, then your partner is.oh, how surprising.DRACO MALFOY!" 


	2. Reactions

Embrace The Darkness 

Chapter Two

          Hermione was shocked speechless. She couldn't move, yet her eyes widened to an unusual size. But everything spun into motion as Hermione screamed,

"What!" She sprung from the stool and whipped around, ignoring the cries of protest and infuriation from the Gryfindor and Slytherin Houses.

"Professor Dumbledore, there must be some mistake!" She pleaded the headmaster.

"I'm afraid not, Miss Granger. And I think the Sorting Hat would like to be put down now," He said, with that ever present twinkle in his eyes.

          Many conflicting emotions rose up inside of Hermione; confusion, shock, but most of all, anger. In the end, shock won out and Hermione just sat the hat back down. Ron ran up and Hermione let herself be led back to the Gryfindor group.

          She glanced upwards, after about ten minutes, and finally everyone had settled down. They were concentrating on their own partners.

          "Draco Malfoy!" yelled Professor McGonagol. As the blond Slythering sauntered up to the stool, Hermione couldn't help notice how much he had changed from the whiny little rich boy he used to be. Granted, he was still rich, but he was now over six feet tall and no longer was his white-blonde hair slicked back. His hair fell just past the bottom of his chin, and his skin was as pale as ever. The Gryfindors used to joke that he was probably glow-in-the-dark. Nobody joked now. That had stopped four years ago when finally all of his Quidditch training had finally paid off.

          Of course, Draco wasn't the only one who had changed. Hermione had grown taller. Her teeth had stayed a normal size,  despite frequent attempts at Enlargement Charms from many Slytherins. Most of the attempts had stopped when Hermione had shown herself to be quite adept at performing the Flipendo charm on various students.

          Hermione's hair had finally straightened out and now fell in waves past her shoulders. In heat, her hair curled into loose ringlets. All that was thanks to various muggle contraptions and quite a few permanent straightening spells.

          But Hermione was still the same bookworm she had always been. She was becoming increasingly aggravated when anyone mentione Apparating or Disapparating on Hogwarts grounds, responding with,

"Pick up a book! How many times can I possibly say it; you cannot apparate or disapparate on Hogwarts grounds! Has anyone but me read Hogwarts;A History?" 

          This statement was met with one of two things; Ron's laughter or a `Why would we?' from Ron. Both of them had the same result of Harry's foot connecting with Ron's leg.

As Draco sat on the stool, Hermione grabbed Harry's arm, getting more nervous by the second. Hermione, Harry, and Ron had gotten closer throughout  their years at Hogwarts. After about three minutes the Sorting Hat opened it's mouth to speak. 

(A/N These fun little symbols // bla bla bla // are of when a character is thinking something)

//This is it. This will either confirm or deny the fact that a Malfoy was placed as a Muggle-born's partner.//

"Hermione Granger!" She groaned, but smirked in amusement as she saw a look of horror and shock pass over Malfoy's face; much like Hermione's reaction. He sprang up from the stool and yelled,

"What!"

"That confirms that there was no mistake. Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger is your partner and Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy is yours." Instead of being utterly flabbergasted, Draco simply glared at the Headmaster and glided back to his ever loyal Slytherins.

Hermione almost laughed aloud as Draco regained a stance used in their early years at Hogwarts; the sulk. Or at least  something frighteningly close.

          Harry came up and gave her a sympathetic smile, trying to cover up the thinly veiled anger geared towards the Slytherin Prince.

"Harry, it's not as if we can do anything about it, or else you know I would. I might as well take life's challenges as they're thrown at me." Hermione said, forcing her anger and shock down.

"I wish my attitude was as good as yours, Hermione. I probably would have been trying to attack him right now." Ton suddenly walked up, clenching and unclenching his fists.

"What I wouldn't do right now to hex that jerk until he transferred to Durmstrang!" Hermione giggled. She found Ron's random bursts of anger rather comical.

"Harry Potter!" Harry took a deep breath and walked up to the front. Hermione looked at Harry a bit, realizing the differences that had taken place in her two best friends. Harry took a deep breath and walked to the front. Hermione looked at Harry a bit, realizing the differences that had taken place in her two best friends. 

          Harry had grown to at least six foot, but was as slim as ever. Hermione had given him contacts for his last birthday after getting tired of saying the worlds 'Oculus Repairo' at least once a week. But since the threat of Voldemort had grown, he had been a bit quieter. Not enough for anyone else to notice except for her and Ron. Sometimes she found Harry in the common room, studying spells to defend oneself against attacks. Hermione was worried, bu she thought that some time away from Hogwarts, the place destined where the final battle would take place, would do him some good. 

          Ever since it had come out that Harry must be the one to fight Voldermort, Dumbledore had made it quite clear, that despite the prophecy, he would not be participating in any part of the war.

          Ron was much the same in spirit, however, he had grown as well, shooting up to about six foot and two inches. His hair was as red as ever, and freckles still spotted his face. Nothing had ever came from the crush Hermione had had on Ron for years. It had disappeared in the summer after fifth year.

          She had never brought up her feelings, for she no longer expected them to be returned. Especially after Viktor Krum. They had tried to make their relationship work long distance, but, like many others, they had failed in the attempt.

          Harry settled himself down onto the stool. The second the hat was placed on his mop of jet black hair, an answer was shouted out.

"Ron Weasley!" Hermione smiled. She was happy that they had gotten placed together, if not a little jealous. Besides, she ends up getting placed with the worst person imaginable, and they had gotten paired with their best friends.

          After all students were paired up, and a few more details were told, they were released and sent back to their dormitories. Hermione received quite a few sympathetic shoulder pats and hugs from various students; mostly Gryfindors and Ravenclaws (of course no Slytherins).

          Hermione finally slumped on her bed in the room she shared with Lavender and Parvati. She pulled out one of the muggle romances she read when no one was around. She knew that she would get teased mercilessly if Ron and Harry knew she was a sucker for romance novels. 

Just as Paolo was about to confess his love to the sophisticated Maria, her two roommates burst through the door

"Ohmigod Hermione! I just totally cannot believe you got paired up with Draco!" Screamed Parvati. Hermione almost laughed. Every time Parvati was excited, her sentences almost always started with an Ohmigod.

"I know." Groaned Hermione.

"You are SO lucky!" exclaimed Lavender.

"What in the name of Merlin are you talking about!" cried Hermione in utter shock.

"Well, some on girl. He's completely gorgeous." Even Hermione had to admit that he was very easy on the eyes, but that does not make up for his personality. After debating with the two girls for over fifteen minutes on whether or not Draco was a good partner ornot, Hermionerealized that her two roommates would never change their minds. So she promptly quit and left the room to fo and talk to Harry and Ron.

          After a week of avoiding Draco in the halls and at meals, it was the day before the trip was about to begin. Hermione checked and rechecked her list, from her books to her twenty-seven purses. Purses were the only items she splurged on, besides books, which she considered a necessity. She had purses in all shapes, styles, and shades. Hermione had also made thevery difficult choice of decidein to leave Crookshanks behind in the very capable hands of Hagrid. She could only hope that Fang and Crookshanks got along. 

          She settled back into her bed, for her last night in her beloved Hogwarts. Crookshanks curled in her arms, and Hermione slept peacefully in the castle.


	3. Double Take

Chapter Three- Embrace the Darkness

          "Hermione, wake up! You have to get ready!" Yelled Lavender in a singsong voice. Hermione groggily cracked open one eye, and groaned as she caught sight of the clock.

 "4:30 am! For Merlin's sake! We don't have to be in the Great Hall until 10:00!"

"Which gives us just enough time to give you a makeover! Besides, we know that your cousin bought you that completely fabulous wardrobe over the summer." Hermione was in shock. How did they know that! She had hid all of those clothes away at the bottom of her trunk; she had only brought them to make her cousin, a fashion designer, happy.

"First of all, the only way you could have known that was if you were snooping through my PERSONAL belongings! Second of all, that stuff is not my style." Said Hermione indignantly.

" That's because you've only tried out one style; boring!" Parvati cried very rudely.

"I beg your pardon!" Hermione relented after three fruitless accusations and nine minutes of arguing and debate.

"Alright, but you had better not put so much makeup on my face that I look like a clown."

Lavender and Parvati squealed in excitement. She closed her eyes just as they both approached her with objects in their hands that looked strangely like torture devices. After feeling her hair worked on, and her face powdered, along with other adjustments made to her face, she heard her roommate say,

"Alright, Hermione, put on these clothes but don't look into the mirror until your completely dressed."

Hermione opened her eyes and saw the clothes that the girls had laid out for her. It was a pair of stonewashed jeans paired with black strappy sandals. The shoes had undergone a comfort spell, and prevented blisters. A black sleeveless shirt was for the top. On the front the words _Rebel Without A Cause_ (A/N Like the movie) was printed in very small lettering, and on the back was a black and white picture of James Dean.

She inserted the silver hoops into the rarely used holes in her ears, and slipped on a necklace with a silver castle on it, with an uncanny resemblance to Hogwarts. She left her wrists bare, but slipped a gold Claudaugh ring onto one of her slender fingers. She picked up her black BEBE purse last, that had been magically adjusted to accommodate her charmed cd player and all of her bare essentials, which included, of course, a few books.

Hermione stepped in front of the mirror and gasped. She looked…pretty. Parvati and Lavender had straightened her hair, and done a very small zigzag part throughout her hair. The makeup on her face was very subtle, only enhancing her beauty. She turned and saw a book lying on the bed. She quickly looked at it and saw that it was a book full of hair and makeup spells from Lavender and Parvati. Hermione had to admit that the girls were good friends, even if they weren't the shiniest rocks in the garden. Grabbing her suitcase charmed to hold all of her personal items, she gave one last hug to Crookshanks and headed over to the boys dormitory. As she pushed open the heavy wooden doors, her ears were met with strangely high-pitched screams saying,

"HOLY MERLIN! HERMIONE! WHAT IN THE BLAZES ARE YOU DOING IN HERE!"

"GET OUT! I'M NOT DRESSED!"

"HERMIONE I'VE GOT MY FLAMING BOXERS ON!"

These cries were accompanied by Neville's frantic dive for cover in his bright orange boxers and various seventh year boys hiding underneath bed sheets and behind curtains. 

"Like my deepest desire is to see you boys scantily clad? No thank you! I just want to talk to Harry and Ron, and if they're in there please send them out!" With those last words, she scurried away from the place of the very disturbing sight that had met her eyes. She settled back into the plump chair and waited for the heavy footsteps of her two best friends. They stumbled down the stairs while pulling on their outer robes, and greeted Hermione enthusiastically. 

"Wow! Hermione, you look great!" Said Harry, stunned by her transformation. Hermione blushed, not used to comments on her appearance.

"Thanks, Harry." Ron just stood there, looking amazed. 

"Are you packed?" She inquired. There was no answer.

"Your silence is very encouraging." The boys both scrambled back up the stairs. Instead of deciding to wait for them, she slipped out of the portrait and traveled down to the entrance hall. She tried to ignore all of the strange looks she was receiving, but finally turned to Dean Thomas, who was openly gaping at her.

"What are you staring at? Is there something on my face?" She asked curiously. Dean Thomas fidgeted for a bit and didn't answer until he realized that Hermione was willing to wait for an answer.

"Well, it's just…you look…different. You look, well, really good, Hermione. Real good." Once again, Hermione blushed, but quickly covered it up by turning to the side, and responding with a "Thanks" as she swept past him. When she finally reached the entrance hall, which seemed to take twice the amount of time as usual, she set her bag down along with the rest of the luggage and walked to the Great Hall for breakfast. The minute she walked into the Hall, it was silent as almost everyone to stare at the new Hermione. She glided hurriedly over to the Gryfindor table and sat down next to Ginny.

"Nice, Hermione! You look really good." Said Ginny.

"Thanks, Ginny, but can we talk about something else." The rest of the morning she received many compliments from various students, until Harry and Ron started glaring at any boy who walked near her. They were in their overprotective mode. Draco had been strangely absent, until she was informed by Lavender, who had heard from a Ravenclaw, who had heard from her Slytherin study partner, that he was still getting ready in his room. Doing his hair and whatnot. Apparently it took him at least thirty minutes to do his hair and get dressed. Hermione was sure that the given time did not include his unnecessarily long preening.

She finally exited the Hall. It was such a relief to finally escape the stares.

"Will all students please report to the Great Hall." Dumbledore's voice echoed throughout the corridors. She groaned. 

//Great, just as I leave, I have to return. Perfect. // Despite her internal grumbling, she returned to the Great Hall at a high speed, narrowly missing a few first years. She sat herself back down into her seat between Ron and Harry. Dumbledore stood up as soon as he was sure everyone was accounted for.

"Today is the day all of the students will depart on their journey to various continents, countries, and nations. I believe that only good will come from this valuable life experience, and that all of you will be safe. A small silver rectangle with a large red button will be given to you when you exit the doors. This is your panic button. It should only be used in extreme emergencies. This will immediately summon one of the professors, myself, or one of the aurors the Ministry of Magic has so graciously volunteered. I must stress the fact that these must be extreme emergencies only, and not trivial matters that you or your partner can handle on your own." Dumbledore here paused and took a breath to continue.

"Your transportation details and destination will be handed to you with your panic box. I expect you to behave politely and represent Hogwarts well. A Ministry of Magic official will check up on each group once at every location. I wish you all good luck. You may head to the entrance hall, starting with the first years." Hermione groaned.  _//Why do the first years get to leave first? We're the oldest. Ughh, I've sunk to whining. I really need to stop, and look at things in a positive aspect. All right, at least a neutral aspect. Positive is too difficult. //_

Hermione sat on the hard bench and waited in silence, ignoring the attempts at conversation Harry and Ron were throwing her way. When the seventh years were _finally _called, Hermione walked smoothly to the front of the hall. She spotted a glance of platinum blonde hair, and headed towards the bright color. Draco turned around and saw Hermione. He did a double take. His mouth slowly dropped open, and gray slate eyes widened to an incredible size. He just stood and stared at Hermione, not moving, until Blaise Zabini nudged him. He cleared his throat in embarrassment and turned to talk to the girl in front of him. 

"Hermione, I, uhhhh…" 

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

All right, thank you so much for reviewing! I really appreciate it. Especially lana-la-banana who has given me great advice on my story. I really value advice and criticism the most. And go ahead and flame me if you want- I'm a big girl, I can take it. I'm going to give you some choices of what you want to happen in the next chapter.

-Draco gets scared on the plane because he's never been on one before

-Draco calls Hermione by her first name

-Hermione gets lost in the terminal

-Draco and Hermione get into a huge fight—screaming, and the whole deal.

Review and tell me what you want to happen!


	4. Lost

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters remotely connected to the ones invented by JK Rowling. They all belong to her.

Browneyedtook- I'd be scared if there was a war too! Thanks for reviewing!

Loony bout Lupin- Thanks for the encouragement

Bumblebee1- I tried to add a bit more detail in this chapter, thank you SO much for the advice- it really helps

Dracosgurl_chrissy- I updated as soon as possible, this is my longest chapter yet, and I hope to make them all this long. Thanks for reviewing.

Sabrina- There might me a few sappy scenes, but not too many. Thanks for reviewing!

Pendragon- Thanks for the airport information! I used it, and I'm definitely going to use that bookstore thing later in the story!

Prowling Wolf- Thanks for the criticism even if it was a little harsh. I tried harder on this chapter, and I hope that you like it better. Please keep reviewing and giving me advice; it helps a lot. Much more will happen in the next chapter.

Crazy_gurl- Wow. All I can say is thank you, even if it was harsh. Basically read what I wrote back to Prowling Wolf, and it goes for you too.

This Chapter is dedicated to lana_la_banana my amazing beta and friend! Everybody read her story New Worlds, New Views—it's great!

First of all I would like to thank all of the reviewers that criticized me (Prowling_Wolf and crazy_gurl) - I really appreciate the fact that you took the time to help make me a better writer and to improve my story. After all, I can't get better if I don't know I'm doing something wrong! I would appreciate if you gave me some ideas for upcoming stories. I have a lot in mind, but there's always room for more. I'll try to edit my stories more carefully in the future. Lana_la_banana and I discuss our stories together, so if there are some similarities between both of our stories, it was not intentional. 

In the last chapter…

When the seventh years were _finally _called, Hermione walked smoothly to the front of the hall. She spotted a glance of platinum blonde hair, and headed towards the bright color. Draco turned around and saw Hermione. He did a double take. His mouth slowly dropped open, and gray slate eyes widened to an incredible size. He just stood and stared at Hermione, not moving, until Blaise Zabini nudged him. He cleared his throat in embarrassment and turned to talk to the girl in front of him. 

"Hermione, I, uhhhh…"

Embrace The Darkness

Chapter Four

            Draco, quickly catching his mistake, changed his tone of voice to cool and collected.

"Well, Mudblood, it's about time you showed up. What took you so long? Oh, I know. You were thinking up new ways to save the word with the Weasel and Golden Boy!" Hermione scowled, but decided not to answer him. _//I'll just pretend that he never called me Hermione. All he did was make a mistake. I'll tease him about it later. // _

"Let's just get to the front, Malfoy. I really don't feel like standing here, listening to you insult me." Hermione huffily pushed her way to the front, ignoring Draco the entire way. She lined herself up behind the line that was quickly growing, with a multitude of students swarming their way to the front. Hermione tried to push her way through the crowd, but only succeeded in getting pushed down onto the ground. Growling under her breath, she pushed herself up. The Head Girl braced herself and began shouting,

"Head Girl coming through! Move over!" Draco, who had been standing behind her laughing, sighed in exasperation at her pathetic attempts. 

"Granger, I don't have time to wait for you to make a fool of yourself once again, however entertaining it may be." He walked suavely to the crowd, and tapped seventh year on the shoulder. When the Hufflepuff turned around, terror flitted across his face.

"Move." How that single word inspired fear, Hermione would never know. But it didn't matter anymore when a space opened up to admit Draco in the time span of less than a second. 

"I don't even want to know how you got that kid so scared," said Hermione, all the while pushing herself next to Draco before the small confined space closed up. After waiting in silence for about twenty minutes, they finally reached the front of the line. Hermione and Draco were each given two packets of information from Professor McGonagall. The strict teacher leaned forward.

"I expect you two to act according to your positions as Head Boy and Head Girl." She leaned back and motioned the next partners forward. Hermione turned around and her face lit up as she saw her two best friends struggling through the crowd. They each gave her a huge hug.

"If he ever treats you worse than usual, owl us and we will both be there as soon as possible." Said Ron fervently.

"Seriously, Anytime, anywhere. Just ask. We'll miss you." Harry smiled at his friend. Hermione smiled back.

"I'll miss you both as well. You two have fun. I know that I'm going to try and have some! Bye!" Hermione saw Draco climb into the carriage, looking almost jealous. _// Curious. I've never seen him look like that before. //_

Hermione climbed into the carriage waiting for them. She sat down on the black cushioned seats and carefully opened her package. 

"Las Vegas! What? I can't believe we got Las Vegas! The one place in the world where there is barely anything to do for kids our age! And we're using muggle transportation." A look of confusion slowly spread across Draco's face. Knowing that Draco would never admit to not understanding something, Hermione answered his silent question. 

"Las Vegas is a town in Nevada consisting of basically casinos. And you have to be 21 to gamble. So basically we can't do anything." Draco snorted.

"What are you talking about? All we have to do is magic up some fake Id's! Some people are so ignorant." Hermione gasped in shock. 

"What am _I _talking about? What are _you talking about! I wouldn't be surprised if you did that, but I can't believe that you expected me to use magic improperly. The very thought! Besides, if I'm going to break the law, I don't want to do it with you!" Draco turned away from Hermione._

"Fine." She was puzzled. Draco never just let something like that go. He looked almost, well, hurt. Hermione leaned back, and studied him. The possibility that Draco might actually care that Hermione didn't want to do something was almost inconceivable, but the look on his face proved otherwise. Hermione sat down and thought. //_If I'm going to be spending so much time with Draco, I might as well try and get along with him. //_

"I'm sorry I spoke so harshly, Malfoy. I'll think about it, but don't count on it. And I might break the law with you. But only because you're so skilled at it there would be no chance of getting caught." Hermione stated, cringing from having to apologize to her nemesis. 

"Like I would care, Granger." Draco kept his head turn, but Hermione saw the corners of his mouth tilt slightly upward.

            The carriage pulled over to the side of the road, and a long black limousine pulled up alongside. Their luggage floated out of the trunk of the carriage, revealing Draco to be the possessor of the most suitcases and trunks. Hermione furrowed her brow as she gazed at her trunk. It seemed, different, somehow. Suddenly it hit her. The trunk she had packed had had a gold lock clipped on, and this one had a more modern looking silver one. Hermione slowly stepped closer, with growing concern on her face. She stopped the trunk of the car from closing and levitated her trunk out onto the grass. She pulled out her key and opened the trunk, only to reveal a completely different interior than that of her own.

            This trunk had all of her books and base essentials, but the wardrobe was different. Completely different. In place of her old and comfortable clothing were the trendy outfits from her cousin. Hermione's panic began to steadily grow, then her eyes lit upon a piece of white paper.

_Hermione, _

_            Hey!_

_ I know that you are probably, hyperventilating right now, but just chill. We, like, just took your old clothes and put in your fashionable ones. You have to totally impress everyone! All of your other stuff is still there, and you'll have so much fun._

_Luv,_

_Parvati and Lavender_

_//I can't believe they write the same way they talk. //_

"No, no NONONONO! This cannot be happening to me! Why would they do this?" Hermione took deep breath, only causing her anger to build up and resulting in a shout of,

"I am going to hex those two to hell!" At those words, she stalked determinedly past the puzzled, yet amused, figure of Draco into the carriage, and demanded that it return her to Hogwarts at once. Draco's eyes widened.

"Granger, no! You can't do that! We'll miss our flight! We have to get going." Hermione glared at him, defeated.  She exited the carriage and transferred her body to the limo. Malfoy slid into the limo after her, sitting right across from her. 

"What went wrong over there? You looked even more stressed than usual, though it was very amusing to see you lose your temper for once." Hermione's head snapped up. She was in a bad mood already, and there was no way she was going to take any of Malfoy's backtalk. 

"What do you mean by that, Malfoy?" She said indignantly.

"Nothing, it's just that you always ruin a good fight. Every time the Weasel is about to retaliate, you have to be sensible and stop him. Haven't you ever been spontaneous or impulsive once in your entire life?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," responded Hermione defensively.

"Oh, really. What was it? Did you buy a new version of Hogwarts; A History?"  Draco was mocking Hermione once again.

"You have no idea about who I am, Draco. No idea whatsoever. There is much more to me than reading books and studying. You would have already known that if you had ever taken a little bit of time to get to know me, instead of writing me off the first week because I am muggle-born. You _DO NOT know me." Draco, a bit taken aback, pressed on._

"So what did you do?"  Hermione looked at him, and saw that through his mask of indifference, he seemed a bit intrigued.

"For one, I traveled to Venice, spur the moment." Draco leaned back, as his eyebrows raised a bit more.

"There's more, Granger?" A mischievous smile slid onto Hermione's lips.

"What if there are, Malfoy?" 

"Tell me," demanded the Slytherin.

"Those are for me to know, and for you to never find out."

            The limo finally arrived at Heathrow airport, and Draco and Hermione loaded out of the vehicle. The chauffeur handed them their luggage, and they manually dragged their luggage through the sliding glass doors. The two had made an unspoken half-truce. Jabs and minor insults seemed to be acceptable, but they had both eased up on full-frontal verbal attacks. They pulled their luggage into a line that stretched the length of the airport and wrapped back again. The lady in front of them fluffed her long mink coat and sprayed on some more perfume. The smell was sickening. After about twenty minutes, the lady pulled out the perfume again and was poised to spray. Draco leaned forward and said,

"Excuse me, but please do not spray that. I think that I'm allergic to your perfume, though it smells wonderful." The lady, though much older, seemed to brighten under his compliments, even though he was telling her to stop her incessant spraying. 

"Oh, well, young man. I understand. Of course I will desist at once. You are so kind." She then smiled, almost flirtatiously at the young man, and turned around in a way that she must of thought of as seductive. Hermione almost reeled back in disgust, and was equally appalled when Draco smiled back at the lady politely. They slowly mad their way to the spot in front of the small computer. After checking in their baggage, the two students entered the terminal. Soon the lady in the mink coat appeared near Draco, and initiated a conversation. Draco smiled back, but this time it seemed a bit forced. Hermione laughed inwardly and announced to the two,

"I am going to the restroom, Malfoy. I'll meet you outside of our gate." Draco flashed an arrogant smirk at her, saying,

"Are you sure you can make it, Granger? It may be confusing for someone with your IQ." 

"I think I can handle it, thanks." The girl then glided off to the nearest restroom.

            After exiting the smelly room, Hermione looked around and started off to the left. After walking around for a little bit, Hermione realized something. She had no idea where she was.

Hermione Granger, Head Girl of Hogwarts, was lost in an airport.

Everybody, PLEASE REVIEW! I really appreciate encouragement, but criticism and advice is best. I don't mind being flamed.

OPTIONS FOR NEXT CHAPTER

Draco gets locked in the plane bathroom Hermione's heel snaps off and Draco has to catch her (providing a close and awkward situation!) Tonks is the ministry official to show them to the hotel Hermione decides that she will help magic up fake id's Draco thinks he might have seen Lucius 

HELP ME OUT! Pick one! Thank you!


	5. I NEED HELP AN imp

Alright—Thanks to all of my reviewers- I love you! I am having a bit of a problem with this story. I have so many ideas, but whenever I try to write it, it just won't come out right! I would appreciate any ideas for upcoming chapters, and advice and constructive criticism. I apologize for not updating, but I have been trying! Please check out my other fanfiction Shades of Gray. I only have two chapters up so far, but am pleased with my progress. 

Just some thanks for a few of the most helpful reviewers…

Prowling Wolf- I was ecstatic when I read your review. Nothing feels better than to have a critical reviewer praise your work. I would appreciate it immensely if you could help me out here, or even review my other fanfic, Shades of Gray. It seems to be flowing much better for me. It's quite a bit different, and much more serious. 

Kitsune-oni—About Lucius… you'll see soon enough. When I can write again! 

Crazy gurl- Love the super long reviews—don't stop them! I really like it that you're not afraid to criticize me, so many reviewers just pour out encouragement. It makes you feel special, but does it really help? No. I would love it if you would check out my other story Shades of Gray. I think it seems to be going well, but noone will give me advice! HELP!

EVERYONE PLEASE HELP ME!!


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